Houses reminiscent of flash floods, Pune’s Sahakarnagar residents submit demand to PMC chief

Residents of rain-ravaged areas in Pune visited PMC commissioner Saurabh Rao’s office to list their demand, however, he was not available

The residents of Tangewala Colony in Sahakarnagar now shudder at the sight of rains, as they live in constant fear of another deluge after the September 25 flash floods.

Residents of Tangewala Colony in Sahakarnagar have been struggling to clean the sludge left behind in the lanes of their colony by the overflowing canals. (Ravindra Joshi/HT PHOTO)

On Monday, residents of Sahakarnagar and other rain-affected areas visited the office of the Pune Municipal Commissioner Saurabh Rao to list their demands. However, Rao was not available and the residents submitted a memorandum of their demands to his office.

“Our only demand from the state government and the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is that they give us permanent houses in the space allocated to our colony in Sahakarnagar. The issue has been pending for many years. Every monsoon we live in fear, this must stop now,” said Chandan Bhondekar, a resident of Sahakarnagar.

According to Bhondekar, in 1999, the residents were shifted to the colony by a builder who had promised to give them permanent houses in the nearby open space in six months. However, it has been years since the promise was made and the space is still lying vacant, and they have no permanent houses.

Three weeks after heavy waterlogging and the collapse of shaky structures took lives in Pune due to torrential rain, inhabitants of one of the most-affected area — Sahakarnagar - are still trying to get their lives back on track.

“The September 25 floods took away everything from us. We are still awaiting help from the civic body. We have received monetary help of Rs 15,000, but this is not enough. We need a permanent solution. Hence, the residents of Tangewala colony and other rain-affected areas visited commissioner’s office in the hope of getting some help,” said Sanjay Shinde, a resident of Tangewala Colony.

Talking about the residents’ demands, PMC commissioner Saurabh Rao, said, “All necessary help is been given to the flood-affected victims in the city. We are taking a review of all the rain-ravaged areas and will take a decision in the next eight days.

A total of 26 people died in Pune district in the 24-hour period, on September 25, that saw very heavy rainfall, causing canals and streams to break bank and overflow, flooding several residential and business areas. Lives of at least three lakh people had been all, but washed away, according to an estimate by the Pune municipal corporation (PMC). Sahakarnagar, Parvati, Katraj, Padmavati, Bibvewad, Ambegaon and Sinhgad road were the worst-affected areas.